Mobile agricultural spray machine

ABSTRACT

An agricultural spraying machine comprising an assembly having at least two moving sections resting on wheels on the soil. This assembly supports at least two spray conduits having spraying nozzles and is attached to a tractor vehicle having a powder feed hopper. According to the inventive concept, the conduits are suspended in the moving section of the assembly and include means to adjust individually the lateral positions of the conduits perpendicular to the direction of movement of the tractor vehicle. Other means likewise provide for the adjustment in height and spacing of the spray nozzles of each conduit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an agricultural powder sprayingmachine, e.g., a mobile powder sowing apparatus attached to a tractorhaving a hopper containing the material to be sprayed, e.g., sown orspread out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Mobile spray and sowing machines of this type are known and consist of aspreading conduit fed by a series of spray nozzles or sowing heads,disposed along the ramp. These nozzles are fed simultaneously from afeed pipe coupled to the hopper. This type of powder spray or sowingmachine using several spray passages has the defect that since thenozzles are separated by a fixed distance and the powder feed is locatedin several passages of the machine, the nozzles consequently cannotfollow the misalignments of the rows of vegetables or plants so thatdefects are produced in the regularity of the spraying, e.g., sinceseveral plants are not treated.

Indeed, frequently two passes of the sowing machine are not rigorouslyparallel or further, by distraction of the driver, the spraying is notrectilinear so that as a result the rows of vegetables often are spacedapart a distance greater than the powder cone emitted by the nozzles. Inthis case the nozzles which correspond to the plants within the treatingzone should, to be able to act on these plants, be individually adjustedand synchronized with the displacement speed of the tractor vehicle. Inthe absence of such a correction of the space between nozzles, a ratherimportant fraction of the surface to be treated is left out.

Briefly, there is no sprayer material available which can operate in awidth greater than that of the spraying machine.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the object of the present invention is to remedy these variousdefects and contemplates a powder spray sowing arrangement which hasseveral spraying passages, so disposed and arranged that all thevegetables and plants will be treated notwithstanding defects inparallel rows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally speaking, the agricultural powder spraying, e.g., sowingmachine herein contemplated comprises an assembly having at least twomoveable sections resting on the soil upon wheels, this assemblysupporting at least two conduits having powder nozzles for the productto be sprayed. The conduits are laterally moveable, are suspended at themoving sections of the assembly and are provided with automaticadjusting means allowing individual modification of their lateralposition perpendicular to the direction of travel of the tractorvehicle. Other means likewise allow adjustment of the height and spacingof the nozzles associated with each conduit.

According to one embodiment of the invention the automatic adjustmentmeans for the conduits comprise a deformable quadrilateral havingdefined sides. Two of the sides are defined by the assembly and conduit,parallel thereto, respectively. The remaining two sides are defined bytwo moveable telescopic connecting rods which couple this assembly tothe conduit.

According to one aspect of the invention this assembly in the form of aquadrilateral is fastened to a reversible motor wherein the output shafthas a drum on which a cable is wound in the one or the other direction.This cable is connected to the two telescopic connecting rods, theoperation of the motor causing the angular displacement of theconnecting rods with respect to the assembly and consequently thelateral displacement of the conduit holding the spraying nozzles.

According to another embodiment the means used to obtain a lateraldisplacement of the conduits are defined by a guide path having aninverted U-shaped cross-section wherein the wings are folded inwardlydefining a slide path wherein sets of roller casters are locatedproviding a side face. The casters are adjustably disposed in heigth andspaced apart and act as the supports for the nozzles. The guide path isattached to the assembly, and the side displacement of this side facebeing provided by a two-way vernier.

According to a further aspect of the invention each sowing conduit has,apart from the powder nozzles, tool-holders which are also adjustable inheight.

The agricultural powder spraying, e.g., sowing machine according to theinventive concept will be better understood by the following detaileddescription, taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the spraying apparatus contemplated hereinaccording to one embodiment thereof;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the spraying apparatus contemplated hereinaccording to a second embodiment thereof;

FIGS. 3a and 3b present views of details shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a third embodiment contemplated; and,

FIGS. 5 and 6 present views of details shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to the inventive concept the spraying machine has an assembly1 with two or more moveable sections 1₁, 1₂, 1₃ joined by axles orpivots 2.

In the example given there are three sections in an inverted U-shapewherein the branches are supported by wheels 3 resting on the soil. Inthis manner, the assembly and more particularly the sections which formit can cover the rows of vegetables 4. This assembly is much larger thanthe customary sowing machine so that it is possible to simultaneouslytreat a large variety of vegetables. The assembly is attached to atractor vehicle 5 and thus moves only in the forward direction of thisvehicle. This assembly supports spreading conduit 6 which is suspendedin a direction perpendicular to each section of the assembly, theseramps being equipped with spray tubes 7, fed by the powder spraymaterial by a hopper (not shown) carried by the tractor. The spray headsare disposed along the entire length of the spray conduits at aninterval corresponding to the usual interval between rows of vegetables.

These spray conduits are independent from one another and are laterallymoveable, i.e., moveable in a direction perpendicular to the traveldirection of the vehicle in such a manner that the operator can from hisown seat, with the use of a reversible commutator (not shown), correctthe position of the spray tubes 7 relative to the rows of vegetables 4,particularly when he sees a defect in the parallel arrangement betweenrows and that this defect can be injurious to the treatment of thesevegetables. The lateral adjustment of the spray conduit 6 is obtainedaccording to the first embodiment (FIG. 1) by using a reversible motor 8having a drum on which a cable 9 is wound in the one or the otherdirection. The two ends 9₁ and 9₂ are tied to the two ends of each sprayconduit 6.

According to this embodiment the adjusting means which causes thelateral displacement of the spray conduit consist of an assembly havinga deformable quadrilateral shape wherein the sides are defined byassembly 1₁, 1₂ or 1₃, one of the conduits 6 and two connecting rods 10₁and 10₂, the latter of which form the lateral sides of the quadrilateraland connect the sections of the assembly with the spray conduits. Thus,the rolling arc of the cable 9 in one or the other direction determinesthe deformation in the opposite direction of the quadrilateral so thatthe conduit in question is moved laterally with regard to the fixedassembly. This arrangement allows the faithful coincidence of the sprayheads carried by a conduit channel under consideration with the rows ofvegetables 4, even if the rows have a defect in parallelism because ofan irregularity in sowing.

It is also possible (FIG. 2) to regulate the spray conduits 6 by meansof a pneumatic or hydraulic arrangement. This system is illustrated inFIGS. 2, 3a, and 3b showing the assembly 1 as a unit with a guide path11 along which rolls a train of casters 12 from which is suspended aside support 13 on which spray heads or tubes 7 are disposed. The guidepath 11 appears in an inverted U-shape in cross-section, wherein thewings are internally folded to define glide paths along which roll thecasters 12 on which the support 13 is suspended sideways. This support13 supports the side member 14 on which are disposed in relativepositions the supports for tube 15 which can thus be regulated in spaceand height simply by unscrewing and screwing of screw cap 16.

Side support 13 is integral having a rod 17 of piston 18 of a doublevernier 19 wherein the cylinder 20 is integral with assembly 1. Thus,the path of piston 18 causes relative displacement in one or the otherdirection of spray conduits and, consequently of the powder spraynozzles. With this arrangement, these nozzles can be thus regulatedlaterally by moving the spray ramps or in space and height by movingside 14.

According to another embodiment, the spray conduits 6 include a toolcarrier 21 (FIG. 6) attached like the powder nozzles 7 on conduits 6.These tool carriers are mounted along the conduit either together withor alternately with nozzles 7. If they are alternately mounted thesetool carriers 21 are situated in a space between two contiguous nozzles7 in such a manner that the tools can work the soil in the zone betweentwo rows of vegetables 4. In case the tool carriers are mounted togetherwith nozzles 7, the tools 23 will work the same land, in one case, foundbetween two rows of vegetables, in the case of a chemical tilling of thesoil, or which can be the actual row of the vegetable in another case.Tool carriers 21 are provided on moving supports and are held fast incaps 22 similar to those in which are mounted the supports for thepowder nozzles 15, so that they are very like the nozzles, adjustable inheight and spacing, the tool carriers 21 have known components to whichare affixed different tools depending on whether it is desired to weed,till or carry out other similar operations.

Thus, the tool carriers 21 are like the spray nozzles 7 adjustable inheight and integral with the spray conduits 6, laterally adjustable sothat it is possible to simultaneously carry out the treatment ofvegetables and work the soil during the same pass of the sowingapparatus.

It is finally possible because of the removability of tools 23 to changetools or eliminate them if the sowing apparatus is to be used alone. Onthe other hand, it is also possible to interrupt the spraying and usethe machine as a simple work tool for the soil all the while being ableto displace individually each conduit supporting tool.

The present invention permits the treatment of vegetables and working ofsoil on a scale larger than the width of the sowing apparatus with whichthe sowing was carried out which permits one to gain an appreciableamount of time.

It is possible therefore to work several widths of sowing terrain, interrain which is irregular or sloping since the autonomy and mobility ofeach channel of the spray ramp with regard to the assembly permits this.

This invention naturally is not limited to the embodiment hereinbeforegiven but can be carried out in other forms or embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:
 1. In a powder spraying machine for agricultural use, atractor vehicle having a powder hopper, a frame assembly with wheelsincluding means to affix said powder hopper to said tractor vehicle,said frame assembly having at least two movable sections mounted onwheels; at least two spraying conduits with spray nozzles wherein saidconduits are suspended from said assembly moveable sections, motorizedadjusting means to permit individual lateral adjustment of each of saidconduits, perpendicular to the direction of advance of the tractorvehicle wherein each of said conduits can be individually and laterallymoved by said motorized adjusting means during the advance of saidtractor and, further adjusting means for adjusting the height andseparation of the spray nozzles of each said conduit.
 2. A machine asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said frame assembly comprises a deformablequadrilateral assembly wherein two sides are defined by a moveablesection and a spray conduit which are parallel and the other two sidesare defined by two moveable telescopic connecting rods joining saidmoveable section and said conduit.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 2wherein said quadrilateral assembly is connected to said motorizedadjustment means, said motorized adjustment means comprising areversible motor with an output shaft, a drum mounted on said outputshaft, a cable disposed around said drum and connected to saidtelescopic connecting rods, whereby the operation of said motor causesthe angular displacement of the connecting rods relative to the moveablesection and thus causes the lateral displacement of the conduitscarrying the spray nozzles.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 whereinsaid moveable sections are inverse U-shaped to stand over the rows ofvegetables and the spraying ramps are suspended perpendicularly underthe moveable sections.
 5. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidmotorized adjusting means to adjust the spacing of the spray nozzles oneach conduit comprises a guide path with wings inwardly folded to form aglide path for roller casters, said casters having a side supportconnected to a side member on which are mounted spray nozzle supportsadjustable in height and spacing, a piston and cylinder assemblycomprising a piston rod connected to said side support, and a cylindermounted on said moveable section whereby actuation of said piston andcylinder assembly provides lateral displacement of said conduit.
 6. Amachine as claimed in claim 5 wherein each spray nozzle support isdisplaceably mounted in a cap having a screw block for lateral andvertical adjustment relative to the soil.
 7. A machine as claimed inclaim 6 wherein the assembly has more than two sections, moveablyfastened to one another, each supporting independent spray conduits. 8.A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the control of the individual orcollective movement of the conduits during the displacement of thevehicle is carried out by a reversible commutator within reach of thedriver on the vehicle seat.
 9. A machine as claimed in claim 1 whereineach conduit has tool carriers adjustable in height and displacement.10. A machine as claimed in claim 9 wherein said tool carriers arelocated together with the spray nozzles along the entire length of theconduits and are then laterally adjustable perpendicular to the tractorvehicle during the work performance.
 11. A machine as claimed in claim 9wherein said tool carrier comprises fixed rods held by a bolted capaffixed to the spray nozzles.
 12. A machine as claimed in claim 9wherein said tool carriers carry sowing tools.
 13. A machine as claimedin claim 5 wherein said motorized adjusting means further comprises atwo way vernier.